Housing for a refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A housing for a refrigeration device is composed of an outer housing box that encloses an interior space, and at least one intermediate mounted shelf disposed in the interior space. The intermediate mounted shelf contains a pre-shaped core made of solid foam material, which is directly fastened on the inner wall of the housing box.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICAITON

[0001] This application is a continuation, under 35 U.S.C. § 120, ofcopending international application No. PCT/EP02/10145, filed Sep. 10,2002, which designated the United States; this application also claimsthe priority, under 35 U.S.C. § 119, of German patent application No.101 45 140.7, filed Sep. 13, 2001; the prior applications are herewithincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates to a housing for a refrigerator.The refrigerator has an outer housing box which surrounds an interiorspace, and at least one shelf which is mounted in the interior space inorder to divide it into subspaces. Typical refrigerators of this typeare combination appliances, in which one subspace acts as a freezercompartment and a second acts as a normal cooling compartment.Refrigerators having a plurality of shelves and whose interior space isdivided into a freezer compartment, a normal cooling compartment and acellar-type compartment are also known.

[0003] Since different temperatures have to be maintained in thedifferent subspaces, the shelves have to tightly adjoin the inner wallof the housing box and, in a similar manner to the outer housing box,which surrounds all of the subspaces, have to be thermally insulated.

[0004] Shelves of this type are conventionally constructed as hollowbodies that adjoin by their lateral flanks tightly to the inner walls ofthe housing box and are subsequently filled with foam in order toachieve the necessary insulating power. This technique is similar to theone conventionally also used to produce the outer housing box: thelatter is assembled from outer and inner walls which delimit betweenthem a cavity that is filled with foam to provide heat insulation.

[0005] This technique is costly since the production of a hollow part,for example by blow-molding or injection-molding techniques, requiresexpensive hollow molds, and the tight fastening of these parts in thehousing box with the aim of subsequently filling them with foam iscomplicated and labor intensive.

[0006] In addition, the intimate bond which arises during thefoam-filling process between the foam material and the hollow body thatit fills would make it difficult to recover the used materials in amanner in which they are intact in terms of type if the refrigerator isdismantled after the end of service life.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a housingfor a refrigerator that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages ofthe prior art devices of this general type, in which the housing has aninterior space divided by a shelf, and the costs for producing theinternal shelf are reduced and its fitting is simplified. It is afurther object to specify a recycling-friendly housing.

[0008] With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided,in accordance with the invention, a housing for a refrigerator. Thehousing contains an outer housing box having an inner wall and definingand surrounding an interior space. At least one shelf is fitted in theinterior space and defines subspaces. The shelf has a preformed coreformed of a foam material fastened to the inner wall of the outerhousing box. The preformed core has lateral flanks and means disposed onthe lateral flanks for obtaining an effective sealing between thesubspaces produced by the shelf.

[0009] Instead of producing a hollow body and filling the latter laterwith insulating foam, the invention envisages first producing aninsulating body or core of a foam material, the strength of which issufficient in order to fasten it directly to the inner wall of thehousing. This makes it unnecessary to fabricate a hollow body withprecise dimensions. An impervious covering of the core, which isdesirable to protect the foam material from contamination and from thepenetration of moisture, can be constructed from one or more panels thatare simple to produce.

[0010] The shelf of foam material can be fitted in a simple manner bypushing the core onto at least one channel or a projection that isformed on the inner wall of the housing box. It is expedient in eachcase to form, on a lateral flank of the core, a projection that iscomplementary to a channel of the inner wall or a channel that iscomplementary to a projection of the inner wall.

[0011] In order to obtain an effective sealing between the subspaces onboth sides of the shelf, knobs may be provided on the lateral flanks ofthe core, the knobs being deformed when the core is pushed into theinterior space and thereby ensuring that the core is tightly connectedto the inner wall.

[0012] As an alternative, a sealing tape may be disposed on the lateralflanks of the core.

[0013] The panels (already mentioned) of the impervious covering areexpediently held on the core by a plug-in or clamping connection. Aconnection of this type can easily be released during the disassembly ofthe refrigerator and promotes a recovery of the used materials in amanner in which they are intact in terms of type. In addition, itpermits a simple replacement of individual panels in the event ofdamage, in contrast with the conventional technique in which, in theevent of the hollow body being damaged, it has to be entirely replacedtogether with its foam filling.

[0014] At least one groove for accommodating heating devices ispreferably formed on a front side of the core and, if each of thesubspaces is assigned its own door, the groove prevents condensation ofair moisture on the front side of the core.

[0015] If a fan is provided in the subspace situated below the shelf, inparticular for circulating cold air in the subspace, then preferably atleast one rib is formed on the lower side of the shelf, the ribsurrounding a surface of the lower side, below which the fan isdisposed. If moisture precipitates on the lower side of the shelfoutside this surface, a rib of this type prevents drops of condensationwater from migrating along the lower side to a position above the fanand dripping onto the latter.

[0016] Likewise in order to protect the fan from drops of condensate,that surface of the lower side that is surrounded by the rib may beshaped concavely, so that condensate forming on the surface drains inthe direction of the rib and drips off on the latter.

[0017] The core is preferably produced from EPS (polystyrene foam).

[0018] Other features which are considered as characteristic for theinvention are set forth in the appended claims.

[0019] Although the invention is illustrated and described herein asembodied in a housing for a refrigerator, it is nevertheless notintended to be limited to the details shown, since various modificationsand structural changes may be made therein without departing from thespirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents ofthe claims.

[0020] The construction and method of operation of the invention,however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will bebest understood from the following description of specific embodimentswhen read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021]FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, sectional view of a refrigerator havingan interior space divided by a shelf according to the invention;

[0022]FIG. 2 is an exploded, perspective view of the shelf;

[0023]FIG. 3 is a side-elevational view of a core of the shelf; and

[0024]FIG. 4 is a partial section view through a refrigerator housinghaving the shelf.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail and first,particularly, to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown a highly diagrammatizedillustration of a section through a refrigerator housing, in which thepresent invention can be used. The housing contains an outer housingbox, which is composed of an inner container 1 and outer walls 2 and inwhich an intermediate space 3 between the inner container 1 and outerwalls 2 is filled with insulating foam. A shelf 4 divides an interiorspace of the housing box into an upper subspace 5, for example a freezercompartment, and a lower subspace 6, for example a normal coolingcompartment. Each of the subspaces 5, 6 is assigned a respective door 7and 8 which are adjacent to a gap 9 level with the shelf 4.

[0026] The shelf 4 has an essentially L-shaped cross section with ahorizontal main section 10, which extends from the doors 7, 8 as far asa rear wall of the inner container 1, and a section 11 that is angleddownward on a front edge of the main section 10. The shape of the shelf4 ensures, first, that level with the gap 9 there is a sufficientlythick insulating layer to protect against heat penetrating into the gapfrom the outside; second, the thickness of the main section 10 canremain limited over most of the main section to a small value requiredfor an effective heat insulation between the subspaces 5, 6 and for asufficient mechanical strength of the shelf 4 in order not to impair theavailable storage volume in the inner container 1 beyond the necessaryextent.

[0027]FIG. 2 shows, in a perspective, exploded illustration, theconstruction of the shelf 4. The self contains a single-part core 12 ofexpanded polystyrene (EPS) that substantially fills the shelf 4.

[0028] Two horizontal grooves 13 are formed on a front side 14 of thecore 12, which side faces the observer. They are provided in order toaccommodate a non-illustrated hot gas pipe through which warmrefrigerant is conducted after it has passed through the condenser of arefrigerating machine and before it passes through a heat exchanger.This keeps the front side 14 sufficiently warm such that a formation ofcondensation water in the gap 9 is avoided. The horizontal grooves 13are connected in a left edge region of the front side 14 by a verticalgroove and merge on a right edge region into grooves extending along aright side flank 15, with the result that the hot gas pipe can be laidcontinuously through these grooves.

[0029] A sealing tape 30 of a closed-pore foam material, such as, forexample, cellular polyethylene, is provided in order, following thefitting of the hot gas line, to be disposed in the grooves thereof or innon-illustrated grooves dedicated to the sealing tape 30 on the sideflanks 15, front side 14 and rear side of the core 12 and thus to ensurea tight connection of the shelf 4 to the inner container 1. Althoughonly one sealing tape 30 is shown in FIG. 2, such sealing tapes may alsobe placed in twos, in each case in the vicinity of the upper and lowersides of the core 12.

[0030] A respective guide groove 16 extends in the horizontal directionon both side flanks 15 of the core 12. The guide groove 16 is providedin order to accommodate a complementary rib that is formed on the innercontainer 1, so that the shelf 4 can be fitted by simple pushing thecore 12 onto the ribs.

[0031] Of course, a horizontal rib could also be provided with the sameeffect on a side flank of the core, the rib engaging in acomplementarily shaped groove in a side wall of the inner container 1.

[0032] An upper side 17 of the core 12 is protected against damage andcontamination by an upper covering panel 18, for example of solidpolystyrene. The covering panel 18 engages by its downwardly bent, frontedge 19 in the upper of the two grooves 13; an analogous grooveengagement with a groove on one of the side flanks 15 of the core or onthe rear side thereof may also be provided in order to clamp the uppercovering panel 18 to the core 12. As an alternative, the lower side ofthe upper covering panel could also be provided with spikes—possiblyequipped with barbs—which can be driven into the core 12 in order toinstall the covering panel thereon.

[0033] In both cases, an adhesive bond is not required between thecovering panel 18 and core 12, which makes it possible for them to beseparated from each other during disassembly in a manner in which theyare intact in terms of type.

[0034] A lower covering panel 20 which covers a lower side of the core12 is equipped on its front edge 21 in an analogous manner to thecovering panel 18 with a retaining lug for engagement in the lower ofthe grooves 13. It may also be clamped in the same manner as the uppercovering panel 18 to the core 12 without an adhesive bond by engagementof a further retaining lug in a lateral or rear groove of the core; afastening with the aid of spikes is also suitable.

[0035] As can be seen more clearly in the side view of the core of FIG.3, two narrow slots 22, which can be formed in a simple manner bycutting into the material of the core, are situated on the front side 14of the core 12 parallel to the grooves 13. These slots 22 are providedin order to receive tongues 23 of upper and lower cross pieces 24 (shownin FIG. 2) which can be formed as extruded profiles of plastic or metaland, first, can serve to stiffen the shelf 4 and, second, serve as asupport for a non-illustrated metallic screen which completely coversthe front side 14 of the core 12.

[0036]FIG. 2 furthermore shows a downwardly directed rib 25 on the lowercovering panel 20, the rib 25 extending in an approximately C-shapedmanner around a surface 26 of the lower covering panel 20, which surfaceis adjacent to the rear wall of the inner container 1 in the fittedstate of the shelf 4. As the section view of FIG. 4 shows, the surface26 is provided in order to accommodate an electric fan 27 below it inthe lower subspace 6. The rib 25 prevents drops of moisture that mightbe formed, for example, by condensation on the lower covering panel 20outside the surface 26 surrounded by the rib 25, from reaching the fan27. A corresponding protection of the fan 27 against condensate formingon the surface 26 can be achieved if the surface 26 is sloped toward therib 25.

[0037] As can be seen in FIG. 4, the guide groove 16 extends not onlyover the side flanks 15 of the core 12, but also over the rear sidethereof, and a rib 28 which engages in a load-bearing manner in theguide groove 16 is also formed on the rear wall of the inner container1. The shelf 4 thereby obtains a high load-bearing capacity withoutexcessive wall thicknesses of the covering panels 18, 20 or of the core12 being required for this.

[0038] In order to additionally support the shelf 4, it is possible, asshown, for an additional rib 29 also to be formed on the inner container1 in the region of the lower subspace 6, the lower covering panel 20resting on said rib.

We claim:
 1. A housing for a refrigerator, comprising: an outer housingbox having an inner wall and defining and surrounding an interior space;and at least one shelf fitted in said interior space and definingsubspaces, said shelf having a preformed core formed of a foam materialfastened to said inner wall of said outer housing box, said preformedcore having lateral flanks and means disposed on said lateral flanks forobtaining an effective sealing between said subspaces produced by saidshelf.
 2. The housing according to claim 1, wherein said preformed corehas knobs on said lateral flanks, said knobs being deformed when saidshelf is pushed into said interior space.
 3. The housing according toclaim 1, wherein said shelf has a sealing tape disposed on said lateralflanks of said preformed core.
 4. The housing according to claim 1,wherein said inner wall of said outer housing box has a channel formedtherein, and said shelf is pushed onto said channel.
 5. The housingaccording to claim 4, wherein said channel is provided for securing saidshelf to said inner wall of said outer housing box on both of saidlateral flanks of said shelf.
 6. The housing according to claim 4,wherein said channel secures said shelf to said inner wall of said outerhousing box on both of said lateral flanks of said preformed core. 7.The housing according to claim 1, wherein: said preformed core has anupper side, a front side, and a lower side; and said shelf has at leastone impervious covering panel disposed on at least one of said upperside, said front side, and said lower side of said preformed core. 8.The housing according to claim 7, wherein said impervious covering panelis held on said preformed core by a plug-in connection.
 9. The housingaccording to claim 1, wherein said preformed core has a front side witha least one groove formed therein for accommodating heating devices. 10.The housing according to claim 1, further comprising a fan; and whereinsaid shelf has a lower side with a surface and at least one rib formedon said lower side, said rib surrounding said surface of said lowerside, and below said surface said fan is disposed.
 11. The housingaccording to claim 1, wherein said preformed core is formed frompolystyrene foam.
 12. The housing according to claim 7, wherein saidimpervious covering panel is held on said preformed core by a clampingconnection.
 13. The housing according to claim 1, wherein said innerwall of said outer housing box has a projection, and said shelf ispushed onto said projection.
 14. The housing according to claim 13,wherein said projection is provided for securing said shelf to saidinner wall of said outer housing box on both of said lateral flanks ofsaid shelf.
 15. The housing according to claim 13, wherein saidprojection secures said shelf on said inner wall of said outer housingbox on both of said lateral flanks of said preformed core.
 16. Thehousing according to claim 1, wherein said preformed core is formed of asolid foam material.